He stepped towards the car, pulled open the door, and got in.
Because Meng Jingwei was sitting in the front passenger seat, Qing Muye immediately said, "Come to the back."
"I'm sitting just fine, why should I go to the back?" Meng Jingwei huffed proudly, not moving.
Song Ci, driving, glanced at his boss's somber face in the rearview mirror and quickly said, "The front passenger seat of this car really can't be occupied."
"Why?"
"Because..." Song Ci paused, his mind racing, and then fabricated a reason, "The seat in the front passenger side has some issues. It's been said to be fixed, but it hasn't been yet."
"Issues?"
Meng Jingwei deliberately shifted on the seat but didn't notice any problems. However, seeing that Song Ci didn't seem to be joking, she had no choice but to open the car door, get out, and move to the back seat, sitting beside Qing Muye.
The car slowly started, heading towards the Ye Se Club.
Along the way, a wide gap separated Meng Jingwei and Qing Muye. She turned her head to look out the window, ignoring Qing Muye. The man remained silent.
At this moment, Song Ci broke the silence in the car. "Miss Meng, there's a mobile phone in the back pocket of the seat. Your bank card and SIM card have already been replaced. I picked them up this afternoon."
Since Meng Jingwei's ID card had been in the process of being replaced since the day of the fire, it was completed today. Song Ci had also bought a mobile phone and had a SIM card replaced for Meng Jingwei on the way back.
"Ah? So quickly, thank you." Meng Jingwei was a little happy.
"Miss Meng, you don't need to thank me. It's all the boss's idea. If you want to thank someone, thank him," Song Ci said with a smile.
Meng Jingwei fell silent. She lowered her head and opened the phone box. It was the most popular 5.7-inch large-screen 5G phone currently on the market, with a novel design and a price of around seven thousand. She inserted the SIM card and pressed the power button. Throughout the process, she didn't say a word to Qing Muye.
The man sat up straight, his peripheral vision catching a glimpse of Meng Jingwei. Seeing her silence, his expression grew increasingly displeased.
After the phone turned on, it vibrated incessantly. Text messages popped up on the screen. Meng Jingwei opened one, from Xiao Cheng: [Where are you now? Reply quickly if you see this.] She opened another, also from Xiao Cheng: [Damn it, why didn't you contact me when something happened?] [Answer the phone, answer the phone.] [Your parents have been rescued by me, they are safe and sound.] [Missed call reminder: The owner of the number 170******** called you at 13:39 on September 27, 2021...] [Chen Zhuo and the private detective were bribed by the Li family, and all the evidence was destroyed by the Li family.] [Where the hell are you right now?] [Sister Wei, I'm sorry to you, but I really had no choice. The Li family threatened me with my family, I'm sorry.] ... In just a short while, the phone received over thirty messages, from Xiao Cheng, Chen Zhuo, mobile carrier notifications, and Qing Muye. Without a second thought, Meng Jingwei immediately called Xiao Cheng.
Ring, ring, ring—
The phone rang a few times before the other party finally answered. "Meng Jingwei? Is it really you? Where are you now?" Xiao Cheng's voice came from the other end of the line, filled with excitement as he asked. Even through the phone, Meng Jingwei could clearly feel Xiao Cheng's concern and care for her. Her heart warmed, and she immediately said, "I'm back, and I'm safe and sound. You don't need to worry too much about me. Xiao Cheng, thank you." Xiao Cheng had helped her a lot during this time, and she was sincerely grateful.
Sitting beside her, Qing Muye's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, looking incredibly gloomy. This damned woman thanked Xiao Cheng for doing nothing, but when he saved her, she didn't seem to thank him sincerely. He felt extremely unbalanced.
"It's good that you're back. Was it... Qing Muye who saved you?" When Xiao Cheng mentioned Qing Muye, his words were filled with unconcealed disappointment. However, Meng Jingwei didn't notice and nodded, "Yes. We just got back yesterday. What about you, where are you now?"
"I... I'm still looking for you near Port Bidel. So you're already back. I'll head back immediately, and I should arrive in Lancheng tomorrow." After speaking, Xiao Cheng was silent for a moment, then said to Meng Jingwei, "Little Wei Wei, it's great that you're safe and sound."
During the ten days of her disappearance, Xiao Cheng had been searching for Meng Jingwei all over the world. But no matter how strong his abilities were, he couldn't match Qing Muye's power, so he was even a step late in saving Meng Jingwei. Xiao Cheng felt not only guilty but also a deep sense of self-reflection, believing his abilities were insufficient.
"Xiao Cheng, thank you. Hurry back, I'll treat you to skewers." Hearing that Xiao Cheng was still near Port Bidel, a pang of sadness welled up in her heart. In the vast Lancheng, only Xiao Cheng and Old Mrs. Qing treated her exceptionally well, so well that she didn't know how to repay them.
"Okay, I'll be there." Xiao Cheng replied.
After a few more pleasantries, they hung up the phone. After hanging up, Meng Jingwei clutched her phone, leaned back dejectedly against the car seat, and stroked the screen with her fingertips. She pondered for a moment, then sighed deeply.
"What's wrong? Missing him?" Qing Muye, sitting beside her, noticed that after Meng Jingwei contacted Xiao Cheng, she seemed to be worried about Xiao Cheng, which made him feel a bit annoyed.
Meng Jingwei tilted her head slightly and lazily glanced at Qing Muye, "What does it have to do with you?" Whether she cared about someone or not, it was her own business.
"Have you forgotten your identity so quickly?" he said in a deep voice, reminding her. Meng Jingwei knew Qing Muye was referring to him being her adopted elder brother now and being instructed by Old Mrs. Qing to take good care of her.
"Did your Chinese teacher teach you? Your comprehension is so poor. Grandma just told you to take care of me, not to manage everything I do." She snorted coldly, muttering, "Besides, this is my own private matter."
"I'm not interested in your private matters, but since you are Grandma's adopted granddaughter, you should know what you should do and what you shouldn't do. Don't disgrace the Qing family." The man leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes as if resting.
"You..." Meng Jingwei was choked with anger. She pursed her lips and retorted, "I'm just friends with Xiao Cheng, and that's disgracing the Qing family?"
"Yes."
"Nonsense!" Meng Jingwei couldn't help but curse. The man with his eyes closed slowly opened them, glanced sideways at the furious woman, as if sensing that she was angry because he was preventing her from dating Xiao Cheng.
"Xiao Cheng has a bad track record. You'd better stay away from him."
"I refuse to!" Meng Jingwei turned her body to face Qing Muye directly, her beautiful and moving face tinged with anger. "The Qing family has immense power. Just because I'm friends with Xiao Cheng disgraces the Qing family? Then what about your Qing family doing business with Xiao Cheng? What does that count as?"
"They are not comparable."